The present invention is directed towards improvements in ski boots and, more particularly, is concerned with a device that is incorporated in the ski boot and which makes it possible to vary the axial orientation in order to correctly align the boot in relation to the ski.
It is well known that a ski boot and, especially, the ski boot sole, must have high rigidity and mechanical resistance for the purpose of attaching the ski as firmly as possible to the skier's foot in order to successfully withstand the stresses transmitted through the bindings during, e.g., the carrying-out of a descent.
When a ski boot, of currently known design, is attached to the appropriate ski, the longitudinal axis of the body of the boot coincides with the longitudinal axis of the attached sole and with the longitudinal axis of the ski. In such a boot it is well known that the foot and the anklebone of the skier are locked in the boot rigidly. Consequently, during actual sport skiing using this equipment, the orientation of the foot of the skier is constrained to coincide with the axis of the ski, regardless of the congenital morphological characteristics of the skier's ankle and knee joints.
When the aforementioned constraint is applied to feet which, in their natural condition of rest, are of the so-called type "with retracted points" or "with convergent points" stresses will appear at these joints, particularly the knee joint, as the sports activities continue or become more technically difficult. These stresses are translated into sensations of pain, combined with inflammation of the tendons or of the ligaments and, in any case, with a gradually increasing feeling of fatigue.
In order to overcome this technical disadvantage, various ideas for the modification of the position of the boot in relation to the ski have been proposed which are intended to satisfy the morphological requirements of the skier. More particularly, it has been suggested that the angular position of the entire boot in relation to the ski be varied, by changing the position of the front part of the binding in a manner that may be, more or less, aligned. It has been recognized, however, that these attempts not only do not always overcome the aforementioned disadvantage, they also entail other technical disadvantages, such as the undesirable and not easily counteracted raising of the centrifugal force components along slightly curved paths. Consequently, the problem addressed by the present invention is to provide a device that can be incorporated into a ski boot and which makes it possible for the boot to be correctly aligned in relation to the ski resulting, at all times, in the most appropriate morphological position given the characteristics of the skier's feet and knees.